Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE)

Benton F. Baugh, who holds numerous patents for blowout preventer parts, said the subs should be able to do the job.

“If they can’t get it closed off, something really unusual happened,” said Baugh, president of Radoil Inc. in Houston and a National Academy of Engineering member.

Comment: I agree, and think they will be successful.  However, it looks like drill pipe will have to be sheared and this is not a slam dunk.  Remote BOP activation capability, which will surely be a major issue in the aftermath of this incident, will be an exponentially bigger issue if the ROV actuation is unsuccessful.  The importance of this ROV effort cannot be overstated.

Kenneth E. Arnold, an offshore production facility expert and another member of the engineering academy, said drilling a relief well is not an easy task.

“You have to intersect the well,” he said. “Sometimes you have to drill through the steel, and that’s what happened in Australia. It took them three times before they were successful.”

Comment: Ken is on target as usual, although it actually took five attempts to intercept the Montara well.  BP has mentioned “relief wells” so they may be using more than one rig to accelerate the drilling and maximize the chance of success.  Hopefully, relief wells will not be necessary.

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